Basically, this is what Google does

search engines Dec 30, 2018

And what it means for your Dojo

So this is what Google does ...

Search engines like Google have a pretty simple, main task and that’s to follow links. Like a chain, they follow these links from website to website. The way this is done is through three parts.

Crawler
Index
Algorithm

If you get to this point, you’re ahead of most with how Google creates it’s majick.

The crawler does exactly what it says, it crawls the web around the clock recording the code of every website within it’s database called the index.

Each time Google passes your site and sees a new change, the index is updated. Simple, right?

This is where it gets important. The more engagement and traffic that is visiting your site, the more time people spend consuming your content - the more often Google’s bots drop by for an index visit.

But first, before all of this is possible - Google must know your site exists. So a link must exist somewhere so that the crawler can intercept it and pay you a visit. Once you are indexed, you will appear on Google’s search engine result pages.

You didn’t hear this from me

Here is where things get more complex, but if you fully understand the first three components to how Google works, then you are most likely ahead of your competitors online.

Let’s dive.

When someone submits a search query to Google, an algorithm decides on a number of criteria, which pages are displayed to that search query, and in what order. Don’t try to figure this out, it’s Google’s secret recipe.

What we do know however is that this algorithm isn’t static, it changes frequently and these changes can be extreme pains in the ass, or they can be quite beneficial.

The good news is, Google’s developers are very open about protocols and what rules we should follow to pair our business with algorithmic updates. While they do point out the important factors, they don’t let us know the order of priority.

What does this mean for you?

Well, stay on top of your online presence and monitor these changes at least once a month. They are that important. There are a ton of blogs out there by SEO companies who’s existence depend on stay in tune with Google, so their blogs are a great place to start.

Giving you the results you think you’ll like, or something like that.

Google’s SERP (search engine result page), is the page you land on following any reach query you ask of Google. They are usually eight to ten result links to websites that they feel best suit your query.

Now, the number of links that Google offers you to a specific website is an indicator to how relevant the algorithm feels that page is - which is why links are incredibly important to your site’s value. Get it?

These links are broken down into two basic types,

External Links
Internal Links

Again, it’s pretty simple. External links are links located on other sites pointing to your website, and internal links are those links pointing to other pages within the same websites. The reason for both makes sense.

The more external links that the crawler sees that point to your website, the more credibility it sees. If they are new links, it pretty much means there’s some discussion about your stuff going on and fresh content happening. This is good. Internal linking tells the crawler that you are mindful of providing a positive user experience for your visitors, versus sending them to a dead end page. It’s a simple best practice that you will be rewarded for by better indexing.

There is a caveat. In the past, website developers tried to cheat the system by ‘link stuffing’ or purchasing shady links, then will get slapped by Google. Keep your links relevant to your content and make them value centered for your visitor looking to take another step into your space.

Optimizing for Google is easier than you think

So with all of this practical information above, you should have a basic understanding of how Google works. Your next step is to craft your online presence and the content you create to meet the criteria I’ve presented above. This is commonly referred to as Search Engine Optimization.

Basically, it’s the practice of crafting your content to get the best possible position on a Google search result for your page. This starts by making sure the site structure itself is built according to Google’s algorithm. As stated, it’s secretive how this works, but Google is open about what is required for a healthy search result.

While you can go it alone, building your site on WordPress (because you think it's free) and having to depend on a third party plugin like Yoast to help you optimize your site, my strong suggestion is you use one of the solid drag and drop page builders like Kajabi, SquareSpace or Weebly. There are more ...

My students all use Kajabi, as they provide a complete suite of tools that is ideal for any studio, including a drag and drop page builder, student training portal (the best on the internet imo), email and automation, video hosting and a ton more. Yes, you can manage your student tuition in your Kajabi as well, seamless.

Let me know below, what questions you might have about Google, what it does and how you can better your online search results.

More Resources:

Check out this article on Local Search Mastery to dive deeper into local search for your studio.

You will enjoy this article on Understanding What Site Optimization Means For Your Studio, to learn more about how to get properly indexed.

If you want to get deep on this topic for your studio, and have the guts to go here, check out this article over at MOZ, How We Got a 32% Organic Traffic Boost from 4 On-Page SEO Changes.

Haven't Started Yet? No problem, check out Kajabi's program and sign up for their one month trial. This is a massive opportunity to build (or re-build) your online presence to power.